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Nov 11, 2009
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Hi you right about the price ours finishes on Monday we have now sorted another with Octopus
Hi Beachball. Have you transferred to Octopus or just coming to the end of a fixed deal with Octopus. What is the new tariff,fixed fir a time or the standard rate? Interesting times eh?
 
Jan 3, 2012
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Hi Beachball. Have you transferred to Octopus or just coming to the end of a fixed deal with Octopus. What is the new tariff,fixed fir a time or the standard rate? Interesting times eh?
Coming to the end of a fixed deal we got some new quotes given and decided to try flexible but would like another fixed deal but it double what we was paying
 
Nov 11, 2009
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Coming to the end of a fixed deal we got some new quotes given and decided to try flexible but would like another fixed deal but it double what we was paying
That’s what our son found as any fixed deal was much more expensive. They bought themselves two of the large hooded quilt coveralls that rugby players use when waiting as subs. They were bought so they could sit out in their woodland but the garments come in handy at home too before they put the heating on. . 😀
 
Jul 18, 2017
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Its an interesting question, is it more economic to run a fridge on gas or electric.

Obviously it depends on how much you pay for either gas or electric, so to be able to make a reasonable comparison you need to look at the quantity of each fuel used, and then you can work out how much either fuel will cost you.

The easiest common denominator to use is cost per kWh.

With electric power its easy because most appliances already quote their eclectic power consumption in Watts or Kilowatts.

By comparison gas consumption is usually quoted in grams per hour. LPG Butane and Propane typically have Butane 13.6kWh/Kg Propane 13.8kWh/Kg for this purpose well use 13.8kWh/kg

Here are the specifications for a Dometic RMS 10.5T fridge.

Voltage (AC) 230 V
Rated input power (AC) 135 W
Gas consumption [g/24h] 270.00 g/24h
Gas pressure (DIN732) 30 mbar


Based on the conversion factor 270g/h x 13.8= 369.9 W/h. This model therefore uses at least 2.73 times as much energy on gas as it does on electricity.

But this is not the final comparison, as when on eclectic power the thermostat will cut the power completely, whist on gas the fridge continues to use gas to maintain the pilot light which typically is roughly about 100W. It is therefore almost certainly the case that fridges will typically use 3x more gas watts than if it ran on electric.

On that basis, in most cases it will almost certainly be cheaper to run the caravan fridge on mains electric than gas. (Edit added later) Its likely that fact will remain much the same as the cost of energy how ever its provided seems to retain similar margins over time.

hen there is the convenience factor, It is reasonable to assume that if you have chosen a pitch where 230V ac is available, you are likely paying more for the pitch. so why not use it. By doing so you are also not using as much gas, which leaves more for jobs where electric is insufficient such as cooking, space or water heating. You'll change your bottle less frequently, saving the cost and trouble of having to take it to be exchanged or refilled.


However, the cost argument reverses if you use a portable generator to make electricity. LPG is far more cost effective than petrol through a generator.

A very informative and interesting post. Not sure if I have done the calculation correct. There are approximately 7.08kwh in litre of gas. Based on a domestic electric rate of £0.18p per kwh this then works out to approximately to £1.27. Obviously a campsite will pay a lot more for electric.
Surely if the cost of LPG is £0.70 per litre this shows that heating by gas is cheaper then heating using electric? Happy to be corrected if I done it all incorrectly.
We have a Safefill bottle that we top up as and when we are out and about so no big hassle.
 
Nov 6, 2005
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Hi you right about the price ours finishes on Monday we have now sorted another with Octopus
A new Octopus fixed price deal will be higher than the present cap, and higher than the likely April-September increased cap - better to go on their standard tariff when any existing fixed deal expires.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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A very informative and interesting post. Not sure if I have done the calculation correct. There are approximately 7.08kwh in litre of gas. Based on a domestic electric rate of £0.18p per kwh this then works out to approximately to £1.27. Obviously a campsite will pay a lot more for electric.
Surely if the cost of LPG is £0.70 per litre this shows that heating by gas is cheaper then heating using electric? Happy to be corrected if I done it all incorrectly.
We have a Safefill bottle that we top up as and when we are out and about so no big hassle.

I have reviewed my earlier posting and found that I have made an important error.

I mistakenly took the specifications, and I did not interpret the units correctly.

It quotes
Rated input power (AC) 135 W
Gas consumption [g/24h] 270.00 g/24h

The electrical consumption is quoted as a rate of usage, but the gas consumption is over 24 hours consumption which include reduced gas rate for when the thermostat is satisfied. This makes the comparison far more complicated as we don't have the 24Hr consumption figure for the electric element as it will be off for a proportion of the time when the thermostat is satisfied.

I need to do some more research to be able to make a fairer comparison.

However I do expect more often than not it will still work out cheaper to run electric power from a mains supply than on LPG from cylinders.
 
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Jul 18, 2017
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However I do expect more often than not it will still work out cheaper to run electric power from a mains supply than on LPG from cylinders.
i think there would need to be two sets of equations, one for bottled gas like Calor and another for refillable bottles where the average price now is about £0.70 per litre. When we last filled up our bottle in September we paid under £0.60p per litre.
 
Mar 29, 2021
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On an observation point only,
The bigger the bottle the cheaper the kg of gas.

Alde quote a rate of 405 grams an hour to 245 grams an hour of propane gas consumption.
My 6kg propane was £25.50
£25.50 ÷ 6000 grams = £0.00425
405 grams × £0.00425 = £1.7215 per hour
245 grams x £0.00425 = £1.0425 per hour

Electric as charged to us on site is 17.5 pence per kwh, maximum Alde electric setting is 3kwh
£0.175 kwh x 3kwh = £0.525 per hour


I understand that in real world use gas may produce more heat to the glycol
but
Double or more than triple ????
 
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Nov 11, 2009
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Current site we are on is metered and priced at 17.5 pence per kwh.
That’s a good rate as at home our fixed tariff is 18.8 for electric plus the daily charge. I took out a two year fixed price gas and electric contract in April 2021 which was slightly higher than the then SVR. It ends in April 2023 so hopefully if markets will have reduced and stabilised by then.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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On an observation point only,
The bigger the bottle the cheaper the kg of gas.

Alde quote a rate of 405 grams an hour to 245 grams an hour of propane gas consumption.
My 6kg propane was £25.50
£25.50 ÷ 6000 grams = £0.00425
405 grams × £0.00425 = £1.7215 per hour
245 grams x £0.00425 = £1.0425 per hour

Electric as charged to us on site is 17.5 pence per kwh, maximum Alde electric setting is 3kwh
£0.175 kwh x 3kwh = £0.525 per hour


I understand that in real world use gas may produce more heat to the glycol
but
Double or more than triple ????
The above may be correct if you are using a Calor gas bottle at a cost of £25 to exchange. However using a refillable gas bottle is a fraction of the costs above. Our refillable bottle is 7.5kg and I don't think we have ever paid more than £7 to refill it even when it looks to be almost empty.
 
Jan 3, 2012
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A new Octopus fixed price deal will be higher than the present cap, and higher than the likely April-September increased cap - better to go on their standard tariff when any existing fixed deal expires.
Hi RogerL we have gone on Flexible Octopus from tomorrow the fixed price deal was double the price we was paying
 
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Mar 14, 2005
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i think there would need to be two sets of equations, one for bottled gas like Calor and another for refillable bottles where the average price now is about £0.70 per litre. When we last filled up our bottle in September we paid under £0.60p per litre.
If you read my posts on the subject I acknowledge the fact that the cost of energy varies becasue I recognise there are differnt tariffs for electricity, and the cost of bottled gas varies between suppliers, and on the size of the refills.

That is why the simplest way to compare the relative costs is to establish the quantity of energy used, and then its up to the enquirer to convert that to cost by using their energy suppliers costs.

The equations remain the same but there are variables such as the cost per unit, which you have to add in your self.

I am still trying to establish the relative energy efficiency of the fridge using gas and electricity. I may only show the relative efficiency of the two fuels in this appliance, To work out the relative costs can only be worked out when the costs of the fuel is known. The outcome will of course be differnt for different energy tariffs.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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If you read my posts on the subject I acknowledge the fact that the cost of energy varies becasue I recognise there are differnt tariffs for electricity, and the cost of bottled gas varies between suppliers, and on the size of the refills.

That is why the simplest way to compare the relative costs is to establish the quantity of energy used, and then its up to the enquirer to convert that to cost by using their energy suppliers costs.

The equations remain the same but there are variables such as the cost per unit, which you have to add in your self.

I am still trying to establish the relative energy efficiency of the fridge using gas and electricity. I may only show the relative efficiency of the two fuels in this appliance, To work out the relative costs can only be worked out when the costs of the fuel is known. The outcome will of course be differnt for different energy tariffs.

Maybe consider a general equation and every one can then input their respective values to determine which is going to be best for their circumstances? 👍
 
May 7, 2012
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Hi RogerL we have gone on Flexible Octopus from tomorrow the fixed price deal was double the price we was paying
This is a very difficult one but Martin Lewis did say that some fixed price deals might be better than the flexible one but could not say which providers were the ones. It just looks to be a gamble with no way of being sure of getting it right just now. The advantage of Octopus is probably they do not charge a penalty for changing tariff although most others are pretty cheap to move anyway.
You will wish you were my daughter who took a two year deal with them last May and hers is set until May 2023 with electric at just under 15p a unit and gas next to nothing compared with the current figure.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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This is a very difficult one but Martin Lewis did say that some fixed price deals might be better than the flexible one but could not say which providers were the ones. It just looks to be a gamble with no way of being sure of getting it right just now. The advantage of Octopus is probably they do not charge a penalty for changing tariff although most others are pretty cheap to move anyway.
You will wish you were my daughter who took a two year deal with them last May and hers is set until May 2023 with electric at just under 15p a unit and gas next to nothing compared with the current figure.
That’s a good price for your daughter. We have BG two year fixed from April 2021 at 18.8 for electric and gas 3.7. So pretty okay considering todays rates.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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That’s a good price for your daughter. We have BG two year fixed from April 2021 at 18.8 for electric and gas 3.7. So pretty okay considering todays rates.
Although Bristol have gone into administration and we will be moved to another supplier, apparently the new supplier has to keep us at the same price level for the duration unless their price is lower. Again although in contract we could leave at any time without penalty.
 
Jun 20, 2005
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We signed up to a BGas fixed price deal for two years last June. More expensive at the time. A wise move!
Our CL near Harrogate uses pay as you go metered electric. Last October , it was cold, our cost was £1.50 on average a night. Certainly a lot cheaper than using the gas. I am sure the Profs research will prove the point. I have no problem with sites using metered el supplies.
 
May 7, 2012
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That’s a good price for your daughter. We have BG two year fixed from April 2021 at 18.8 for electric and gas 3.7. So pretty okay considering todays rates.
Just seen the gas is 3.08p per unit.
Although Bristol have gone into administration and we will be moved to another supplier, apparently the new supplier has to keep us at the same price level for the duration unless their price is lower. Again although in contract we could leave at any time without penalty.
Is this something new as in previous cases, consumers were moved to the new companies rates at that time. It is hard enough to get existing suppliers to take them on at loss making current tariffs, so I cannot see anyone wanting the huge losses that sticking to old contract prices would entail.
 
Jul 18, 2017
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Is this something new as in previous cases, consumers were moved to the new companies rates at that time. It is hard enough to get existing suppliers to take them on at loss making current tariffs, so I cannot see anyone wanting the huge losses that sticking to old contract prices would entail.
This has been the case previously. The tariff may not be loss making and may not be the reason for Bristol going into administration. We will never know.
 
Nov 11, 2009
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This thread is about the price of caravan site pitches etc, but I’m not aware of lists of caravan prices. The trade use their “ green book” but rarely do you get visibility of that. If you are looking for a caravan I would use one of the sites such as Autotrader, or Caravanfinder, or dealer websites input your budget and type of caravan IE number of berths, fixed bed, etc then see what starts to come up within your budget.
 
May 7, 2012
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There is no on line list of caravan prices that I know of. The trade use Glass's Guide but this is not available to the public.
 

Sam Vimes

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Sep 7, 2020
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Looked online but couldn't find an extensive list of caravan prices, if any has seen any good one's online let me know!

As mentioned - this thread is about the price of caravan site pitches. If you want to know about the price of specific caravans please start another topic.
 

Ern

May 23, 2021
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It's a fairly easy experiment to boil a litre of water using your electric kettle at home. Your domestic gas meter is accurate and you can then repeat the experiment using a saucepan. When you see the amount of energy in each case you can compare the costs. This is not meant to be a scientific experiment where repeatability is required but, a good rough test. Remember that domestic gas costs about 1/4 of the cost of Electricity per kWh. The calorific value of bottled gas is of course different, but the simple experiment will give you a clue. A fridge in a caravan can use 1/2 Kg of gas per day, so it is more expensive than electricity at typical rates.
 

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